The National Trust are asking visitors flocking to enjoy the Easter sunshine to be careful with lit cigarettes after a huge fire broke out at Lyme Park last night.
Lyme's house, gardens and park re-opened as usual this morning after they were closed yesterday afternoon when nearby woodland was engulfed by flames.
Visitors have been told to limit the risk of a fire by taking home their litter and ensuring lit cigarettes are properly extinguished and disposed of.
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BBQs are also banned from the park.
Deborah Maxwell, General Manager at Lyme, said: "The area affected was primarily moorland. Dry and hot weather makes the moors more combustible. If it’s windy, it can spread very quickly.
"The National Trust has been working pro-actively for many years to reduce wildfire risk through restoring the moorlands and monitoring for signs of fire in hot weather."
“We are so grateful for all of the messages of support."
The fire covered nearly two square kilometres of moorland of the 1400 acre site, concentrated in the area south of Knightslow woods.
Fortunately no people, cattle, or any of the herd of medieval red deer were injured.
Firefighters from Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire were called to the site on the border of Stockport and Cheshire yesterday.
They used hose reel jets, water backpacks and beaters to tackle the blaze, alongside specialist moorland firefighting equipment.
Last year, fire crews had to battle moorland fires in Saddleworth for weeks on end.
Lyme Park open as usual today after a huge moorland fire broke out
Dramatic pictures show the scale of the challenge firefighters face as they battle Lyme Park blaze
Eleanor Underhill, Assistant Director for the National Trust in the North West said: “We would like to thank Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service for working so quickly together with our team of staff and volunteers.
"They have worked tirelessly to contain and extinguish the fire."
